Irfan Pathan got back the initiative from Kolkata Knight Riders by clinching the wickets of their openers in six deliveries as Delhi Daredevils won the match.

Delhi Daredevils plundered 160 runs for the loss of eight wickets after the scheduled 20 overs and Kolkata Knight Riders scored 108 runs with three wickets in hand.

Irfan Pathan – Eventful first over

Irfan Pathan (Delhi Daredevils) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his initial burst when he removed both openers in his first over.

The second match of Group A in the Champions League Twenty20 was played on Saturday, October 13, 2012, at SuperSport Park, Centurion.

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir, the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, won the toss and asked Delhi Daredevils to bat first. The experienced openers, Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag, got off to a good start as the first hit 3 fours in the first three overs. Sehwag was dropped on the second ball of the next over by Manvinder Bisla off Lakshmipathy Balaji at six runs.

They accumulated 36 runs in 5.1 overs when Jayawardene was clean bowled by Sunil Narine for 21runs. Kevin Pietersen came in the centre to taste the shortest version of the game after a long time since he had been neglected by the English selectors for the World T20 2012 squad. He was dropped on the third ball faced by the wicketkeeper Bisla off Narine. Pietersen once again got a chance on the second ball of the eighth over in an identical manner by the same duo.

Sehwag became the next victim at 58 after scoring 22 and Pietersen followed him next, six runs later, at his personal feat of 22. Unmukt Chand and Ross Taylor took the responsibility of strengthening their team’s position and kept the score board moving at a reasonable pace. They took the score to 127 in 16.3 overs as Ross Taylor was caught by Rajat Bhatia at deep square leg off Balaji for 36 off 24 balls with 2 sixes and 1 fours. Chand hit one six and a couple of fours on the last three deliveries of the over but lost his wicket for 40 off just 27 deliveries with 2 smart sixes and 4 fours. Delhi Daredevils smashed 160 runs with two wickets remaining in 20 overs.

Sunil Narine was the star performer with three wickets, Lakshmipathy Balaji held two whereas Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis and Pradeep Sangwan claimed one wicket each.

Kolkata Knight Riders had an awful start as Irfan Pathan squeezed their openers in his very first over. Gautam Gambhir was caught at mid-on by Pietersen for a duck on the third delivery and Manvinder Bisla was declared leg before wicket for just one run on the last ball. The hard hitting Brendon McCullum also went back to the pavilion without scoring on the first ball of the next over. The worries for KKR were multiplied when Jacques Kallis was hit on his throat by Morne Morkel on the fourth ball of the same over. Kallis was retired hurt as Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan got together in the park.

The pair was there to negotiate the deadly bowling of the Delhi Daredevils and found it difficult to get on with the brisk scoring. The fourth over bowled by Morne Morkel was the most productive until then as 11 runs resulted with two fours. The score moved to 24 when the last ball of the fifth over from Umesh Yadav hit the bottom edge of Yusuf Pathan and went on to dislodge his right bale.

Rajat Bhatia made his way to the centre next as Manoj Tiwary was trying to cope with the demanding situation. The latter hit the first six of the innings in the 11th over and the two batsmen gathered 10 runs in the next over with 2 fours. The fifth wicket association lifted the score to 71 when Tiwary was caught and bowled by Ajit Agarkar for 33 from 38 balls with 1 six and 2 fours. Bhatia was unable to continue and lost his wicket 11 runs later for 26 off 37 with 1 six and 2 fours.

Kolkata Knight Riders managed 108 runs for the loss of seven wickets when the last ball of the 20th over was bowled.

Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav held two wickets each as Ajit Agarkar chipped in with one.

Delhi Daredevils won their first game of the tournament with a huge margin of 52 runs and secured four vital points.